Dolly Partonis in “love” with theBeyoncé-ed version of her songJolene,which appeared with a spicy spin on Queen Bey’s new country-flavored album,Cowboy Carter.
About five decades have passed since thelegendary country iconreleased the hit song, in which she begs “Jolene” not to steal her man. After hearing theSingle Ladiessinger’s version of her 1973 classic, the 10-time Grammy winner said she was “surprised” and had no idea she was going to change things up, including the lyrics.
HighlightsDolly Parton said she loves Beyoncé’s “bold” rendition of ‘Jolene’ from the Cowboy Carter albumThe country icon revealed what she felt about the pop diva changing the lyrics to her popular songThe 78-year-old singer appears twice on the album herself; once in the track, Tyrant, and in an interlude called Dolly P
“Well, I think it was very bold of her,” she toldE! News. “When they said she was gonna do ‘Jolene,’ I expected it to be my regular one, but it wasn’t. But I love what she did to it. And as a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them.”
Beyoncé included her own version of Dolly Parton’s 1973 classic,Jolene,in her country-flavored album,Cowboy Carter
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“Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/I’m beggin’ of you please don’t take my man/Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/Please don’t take him just because you can,” Dolly sang in her five-decade-old version.
The pop diva, on the other hand, did not intend to make requests to “Jolene.”
“Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/I’m warning you, don’t come for my man/Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/Don’t take the chance because you think you can,” she sang.
During her conversation withE! News,Dollyspoke about Beyoncé’s new lyrics and said, “She wasn’t gonna go beg some other woman like I did. ‘Don’t steal my man.’ ‘S–t, get out here, b—h. You ain’t stealin’ mine.'”
Beyoncé chose to sing it differently with: “You’re beautiful beyond compare/Takes more than beauty and seductive stares/To come between a family and a happy man. Jolene, I’m a woman too/Thе games you play are nothing new/So you don’t want no hеat with me, Jolene.”
The 78-year-old singer also gushed with praises over the entireCowboy Carteralbum, which was described during its release as a “Beyoncé album” and not a country album.
“I was very proud of her album,” she said. “I thought she did a great job in country music, and I thought it was great. And I was just happy she did ‘Jolene.’ I, of course, would have loved to have heard how she would have done it in its original way. But of course, you know, it’s Beyoncé. Yeah, her life is different than mine.”
“She wasn’t gonna go beg some other woman like I did,” the country legend said about the pop diva’s changes to the lyrics
Cowboy Carternot only features a cover of Dolly’s classic hitJolene,but it also has the country icon’s voice appearing twice on the album. Her vocals are heard in the songTyrant,and she is also heard speaking in the interlude calledDolly P,which precedes Beyoncé’s version ofJolene.
InDolly P,the country legend is heard speaking to the hitmaker about that “hussy with the good hair,” referring to the lyrics of the 42-year-old singer’sSorrytrack from her 2016 albumLemonade.
“Hey, miss Honey Bey. It’s Dolly P. You know that hussy with the good hair you sang about?” she said on the track. “Reminded me of someone I knew back when. Except she has flaming locks of auburn hair. Bless her heart. Just a hair of a different color, but it hurts just the same.”
Dolly Parton is heard twice in theCowboy Carteralbum — she sings in the track calledTyrantand is also heard speaking to “miss Honey Bey” inDolly P
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“We communicated when the album came out, when I was doing some of the little things to put on the album,” the country queen toldE! News. “And we were sending each other flowers and little love notes and all that. So, yeah, it’s all good.”
Not only is she happy with Beyoncé’s latest tunes, but she’s more than ready to sing alongside the Houston-born artist at the 2025 Grammys if the opportunity arises.
“Why of course I would—if I’m available, if I’m not caught up in something I cannot get out of, yeah, that’d be wonderful,” she told the outlet. “I mean, who wouldn’t wanna sing ‘Jolene’ with Beyoncé?”
Even before the creation ofCowboy Carter, the Tennessee-born singer revealed that she wanted Beyoncé to cover her five-decade-old song
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Years beforeCowboy Cartereven materialized, Dolly revealed in an interview with Trevor Noah onThe Daily Showthat she wanted theRun the Worldsinger to cover her popular songJolene.
“I don’t know if she’s even got the message, but wouldn’t that be killer?” she told the talk show host in the 2022 interview. “I would just love to hear ‘Jolene’ done in just a big way, kind of like how Whitney [Houston] did myI Will Always Love You. Just someone that can take my little songs and make them powerhouses.”
The9 to 5singer also mentioned wantingBeyoncéto cover the song whilespeakingtoThe Big Issuein 2020.
“But nobody’s ever had a really big hit record on it,” she added. “I’ve always hoped somebody might do someday, someone like Beyoncé.”
“Who wouldn’t wanna singJolenewith Beyoncé?” the country icon said about singing with her at the 2025 Grammys if the opportunity arises
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Despite her wish to have the music mogul cover her song, many have not been welcoming of the idea of Beyoncé doing country music.
In March, Dolly praised the R&B sensation’s version of the song with an Instagram post that said, “Wow, I just heard Jolene. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it! love, Dolly P.”
“It’s fine that she sings it, just don’t call it ‘country’ because it’s definitely not,” another said, while one wrote, “Love you Dolly but this version just doesn’t do your song justice.”
“What a world, when the original artist can quite LITERALLY give full approval, and fans decide to come along and spew negativity. Just silly…🤦🏽♂️ We LOVE Queen Dolly P and Queen Honey B!” another wrote.
Not everyone was welcoming of Beyoncé doing country music or covering the Dolly Parton classic
During the March release ofCowboy Carter,Beyoncé opened up in a social media post about how she didn’t feel welcomed in the country music scene in the past and how that experience further pushed her to conceptualize the new album.
“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” she said. “ … The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
“Love how Beyoncé flipped the script on the classic,” one said about the new version ofJolene
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